Marian Reflections on War and Peace: Trauma, Mourning and Justice in Ukraine and Beyond

This book presents an original Marian approach towards war and peace, dedicated to the suffering of children, women, and men in Mariupol and elsewhere in Ukraine and in the world. Offering new theological perspectives on the contemporary impact of war, the contributions take inspiration from the figure and symbol of Mary - as protector of children and guardian of peace, intermediary of the incarnation, as well as model for ecumenical, interreligious, and intercultural engagements. The chapters explore the role of Mary as a symbol for feminist and activist reflections, for the communication of suffering as the mater dolorosa, for power when appropriated for political ends, and for healing and reconciliation in peace-building efforts. The book provides readers with valuable theological reflections on conflict, global theological ethics, ecofeminist and peace-building thinking in theology, and contemporary political theology.

Lenart Skof is Head of the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies at the Science and Research Centre in Koper, Slovenia, and Dean of Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis at the Alma Mater Europaea University (Ljubljana, Slovenia). He is a member of European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, Salzburg) and president of Slovenian Society for Comparative Religion.

Emily A. Holmes is Professor of Religious Studies at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN, USA. Her current work focuses on community-based spiritual and ethical practices related to growing, sharing, and eating food using an incarnational theological framework.

Pavlo Smytsnyuk is a Mary Seeger O’Boyle Associate Research Scholar in the Seeger Centre for Hellenic Studies and Religion Department at Princeton University, USA. He specializes in political theology and social ethics in a comparative perspective.